SAN ANTONIO — For the first time in 18 years, Florida basketball will be playing for a shot at immortality in the NCAA Final.
The Gators came back from a second half deficit for third time in four games with a dramatic 79-73 win over Auburn in the Final Four. Walter Clayton Jr. was once again otherworldly for Florida with a masterful and career-high 34 points.
UF also saw key contributions from Alijah Martin, who overcame a previous Final Four loss at FAU, with 17 points, and 12 from Thomas Haugh, who also helped shut down Tigers star Johni Broome. Florida trailed by eight at halftime, but it quickly tied the game in the second half and held AU to 27 points and 33% shooting.
Now, the Gators will play for their third national title in program history, and it'll be against the in-state team, Houston. The Cougars defeated the Duke Blue Devils and their National Player of the Year Cooper Flagg 70-67 in the second game from the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday night.
Houston (34-4), under veteran coach Kelvin Sampson, ranks first in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 58.3 points per game. That defense shined through in the final three minutes of the game vs. the Blue Devils.
The Cougars held Duke without a field goal in the final 3:03 after a Flagg made three pointer. From that moment, the 'Cougs went on a 15-3 run, including 9-0 to end it, in one of the most stunning endings in recent Final Four history.
The two squads have met just twice, with the Cougars taking both games and the last meeting between the two programs coming in 1973.
Florida will play Houston at 8:50 p.m. ET on Monday, and the game will be on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill will be on the call, with Tracy Wolfson providing sideline reports.
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Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: ...
